out of nowhere they appear -
the garba dancers -
around october, around dussehra.

like slugs made sometime may
or frogs, that incarnate in monsoon
that you guess rode a raindrop

& fell from the sky. the dancers
are dressed in gold red black white
standing under the stars

in constellation-politics, switching
alliances but with finity, partners
reunite before the song ends -

the dandiya sticks clap tap & kiss
in rhythm, the girls they smile
in dance like nowhere else, the boys

feel like torchlight-discovered attic dust
just like the stars that are just
unveiled now, otherwise cityfog-hid

in a distance, the shapes in them
are myths, their power divided by zero -

imagining - if stars twinkled at heartbeat
how bright would it be and then how dark.

~Ajay
15/9/2019